Officials: Girl shot in neck, abdomen in Texas school attack

Officials: Girl shot in neck, abdomen in Texas school attack

By DAVID WARREN

Jan. 24, 2018

DALLAS (AP) — A 16-year-old student shot a classmate in the neck and abdomen at a Texas high school before firing at another student and missing, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Details of the attack at Italy High School, south of Dallas, were recounted during a juvenile court hearing for the boy accused in the attack.

He's charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Authorities haven't released his name because he's a juvenile. He appeared in court in Waxahachie wearing handcuffs and orange jail garb, accompanied by family members.

He repeatedly shot the 15-year-old girl in the school cafeteria Monday morning before taking aim at the second student as dozens of others looked on, prosecutors said. The girl is hospitalized and is expected to survive.

"He only stopped because he ran out of bullets," Ellis County 1st Assistant District Attorney Ann Montgomery said after the hearing.

The teen was taken into custody outside the school shortly after the shooting.

Authorities have not released a motive but prosecutors said surveillance video appears to show the teen was angry with the girl. He's seen waving his arms and stomping around her as she lay wounded on the cafeteria floor.

District Court Judge Cindy Ermatinger ordered the teen to remain in custody and undergo a psychological evaluation. Another hearing is scheduled for Feb. 7.

Prosecutors will review a breadth of material before determining whether they will seek to try the teen as an adult, Montgomery said.

"We have to wait to receive entire police file and the psychological examination before we determine how we want to proceed," she said.

Ellis County District Attorney Patrick Wilson spoke with reporters after the hearing, his voice shaking with emotion.

"There are no winners in this, no matter how it shakes out," he said. "It was a tragedy for everybody."

Students and parents in the aftermath of the shooting said the boy had shown flashes of anger in the past. Tina Haight, whose daughter attends the school, told KDFW-TV in Dallas that she had complained to school administrators after the boy threw scissors at her daughter.

Italy Independent School District Superintendent Lee Joffre has declined to reveal any punishment the boy may have faced in the past, saying the law prohibits a district from speaking specifically regarding student discipline or any other student incidents.